By Dante Lee
Coming up with a good business idea, doesn’t necessarily mean that you should pursue it. This may sound unorthodox, but many good ideas should be left alone. A “good idea” can cost you a lot of money, a lot of time, and bring you no results.
Here are some questions to ask yourself before you pursue a “good idea”:
1) Is this idea easily duplicatable?
Trademarks and patents can protect your idea, but not every idea can be trademarked or patented. For instance, if you have a unique service to provide – you can not exclusively own this. If a bigger company with more resources notices that you are on to something, they can easily (and legally) steal your idea and create a major challenge for you.
2) Does this idea require a lot of funding?
Many entrepreneurs have great ideas, but fail to realize that some ideas are just too expensive. Bringing in investors and venture capitalists to solve this problem can be a complicated process, and you’ll be giving up ownership shares. I would never discourage an entrepreneur from seeking funding, but make sure you know what you’re doing.
3) Do I have the expertise to bring this idea to life?
You may have a good idea about the end product, but make sure that you fully understand and have experience in the field to get the job done. Be realistic. If you have a very innovative technological idea, you must also have the knowledge and intuition to go with it. Otherwise, your idea will always be just an idea.
4) Will the patent for this idea expire before it comes to life?
Many entrepreneurs tend to forget that a federal patent expires in 10 years. Unfortunately, it can take that long to make your idea come alive. If your idea has not manifested itself within that period, your patent will expire and your idea becomes open and available for anyone to use.
Dante Lee is an entrepreneur, author, and blogger at www.DanteLee.com
